Improvement in grain-binders



3 Sheets--Sheet I. E. CHAPMAN.

Improvement in Grain-Binders.

0,126,520. Patented May 7,1872. ,2,

55mg 1% M E.CHAPMANJ Improvement in Grain-Binders.

Patented'May 7,1872.

3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

E. CHAP MAN. K Improvement in Grain-Binders N0- 126,520 Patented May7,1872.

'lar device.

UNITED STATES PATENT Qrrron.

EDWIN CHAPMAN, OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, ALLEN K. WILLIAMS, JAMES M. WILLIAMS, AND CHARLES H. CHAD- BOURN, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-BINDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,520, dated May 7, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN CHAPMAN, of Rochester, in the State of Minnesota, have in-- vented and made an Improvement in Reapin g- Machines; and the following is declared to be a correct description of the same.

In my machine the grain as cut falls upon a platform, a revolving rake, actingperiodically, carries the grain back into the path of areciprocating gatherer that forms it into a sheaf or bundle, and around this a wire is passed and twisted, and then the bundle delivered upon a holder and dropped periodically when the required number of bundles have accumulated.

My improvements relate to the particular construction, arrangement, and combination of devices for performing the various operations, as hereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a general plan of the entire machine, and Fig. 2 is a vertical section at the line a: m. The other figures represent separate parts or groups of parts, and are referred to in connection with thedescription of those parts.

The frame a of the machine is sustained upon the main driving-wheel b and wheel 0, and a pole or tongue at a serves for connecting the animals or other power, and the seat b (see Fig. 3) isprovided for the driver. The

wheel b is within the secondary frame 0 hinged at 2 to the frame a, and at the back end this frame 0 is connected by a rope or chain with the shaft 3, that runs across under the platform of the machine, and can be revolved for drawing upon the chains or ropes, or loosening them and raising or lowering the front part of the main frame a from the ground. The wheel 0 is upon a lever, 0 that is also connected to the shaft 3 by a chain or rope, so that both sides of the machine will be raised or lowered simultaneously by revolving the shaft 3, and this shaft is retained by a ratchet and pawl, M, or simi- (See Fig. 3.) The counter-shaft d is in line with the joint 2, and is revolved by the wheel a gearing into the pinion 4, and the bevel-wheel 5 on the counter-shaftcl gears into a pinion, 6, that revolves the crank 7 and reciprocates the cutter-bar, as usual. The cutter-bar and fingers are at the edge of the platform f, and may be of any desired character,

and the grain, as cut, falls upon the said platform, between the side pieces f. The pinion 8 upon the counter-shaft d gears into the bevelwheel 6, that is loose upon the shaft 6 leading to the binding mechanism, and upon this shaft is a clutch, e operated by the lever 9, so

that the shaft 6 maybe coupled to or uncoupled from the wheel 6, and thereby stop the binding mechanism, but allow the rake to continue to revolve. The wheel 6 gears to the pinion 11 on the "ertical shaft h, and, by the pinion 12, drives the wheel h of the reel and rakeshaft13. This arrangement of gearinginsures the necessary motions, prevents undue friction, and the pinions 8 and 11 being on opposite sides of the wheel 0 the teeth are properly kept in gear regardless of the wheel 0 being loose on its shaft. The rake-shaft 13 is supported in a suitable frame, and may be provided with one or more pairs of arms and reelbars to lay the grain over toward the platform, so that it falls thereon; but this shaft carries arms is and a sliding rake-head, k. This head It is made to slide in curved slots in the arms is, or upon curved bars, so that as the rake is projected to be contiguous to the platform f as it passes across the same, the angle of the rake-head to the arms will be changed and maintain almost a vertical position to the platform, and thereby carry the mass of grain back bodily. The rake-head is connected by the rods 15 to the arms 16 of the rock-shaft l7, and upon an arm, 18, is a roller or pin passing into the groove of a stationary cam, 2, and the groove 19 in this cam is shaped so that it will move the arms 18, 16, and rods 15 in such a manner that as the rake revolves it will be pushed further out from the shaft 13 and move across and nearly in contact with the platform.

If it is desired to prevent the rake acting and thereby allow an accumulation of grain to form a bundle of proper size, (when the stalks stand scattered on the field or not close together,) then the attendant, in moving the lever g to stop the binding mechanism, also moves the switch t in the cam p, and the roller of the arm 18 runs in the groove 20 and draws up the rake-head, causing it to pass above the grain. The grain is passed by the rake it back to the part q of the platform, and the movable fence q is at this moment raised up through an opening betweenf and q, so that the butt ends of the grain will rest back against the same, the platform being inclined slightly upward. This fence is moved by the arms 22 on the rock-shaft 23, that derives its movement at the right time from a cam or projection at 24 on the shaft This fence q is preferable to a vertical jog in the platform, because my platform is level or nearly so, and there is no tendency in the heads of grain to double under, as they do when falling over a jog in the platform. The grain is carried off the platform q by the reciprocating gatherer 1' that slides upon the platform transversely of the same, and is made with legs or plate connections passing down to the actuating mechanism that is below the platform, and hence not in the way,like the gathering devices that have heretofore been employed. Upon the shaft e is a compound wheel, 8, that gives motion to -the wheel 8 and crank that actuates the gatherer. This gearing is represented in outline in Fig. 4. The wheel 8 is in constant motion and revolves with the shaft 0, but the crank 30 is arrested and pauses at both deadcenter points, and one half revolution is performed quicker than the other half revolution, so as to carry the gatherer back quicker than it is brought up with the bundles.

The sections of teeth 31 and 32 on the wheel 8 act upon the sections of teeth 33 and 34 on s to move the same, and the difference in the distance these are placed from the respective shafts causes the larger section 32 to act on the smaller section 33, and turn the shaft of s faster than when the section 31 acts on the other section 34. The edges of s between these sections of teeth are smooth or arcs of circles, and against them the concave bearers 35 or 36 rest, and thereby the crank 30 is held steadily at these points until the arc passes from beneath the concave and the notch allows the bearer to swing as the teeth come into contact; thereby in each revolution of 8 there are two half revolutions of s atdifferent speeds, and a pause between each half revolution. During one pause the rake acts to deliver the grain in front of the gatherer, and during the other pause the bundle is bound. The gatherer is connected below the platform with an endless chain over the drums t t, and to one of these drums the gearing t is applied to move the same, and this gearing t is driven by the reciprocating rack-bar 38 from the crank 30. The teeth of this rack-bar 38 take those of the scroltpinion 39, which hence produces in the gatherer a gradually-lessening movement as it passes across, and presents the grain to the compressing and wiring mechanism, for when the rack-teeth 38 are acting on the smaller part of the scroll-pinion 39 the movement of the gatherer will be faster than when acting upon the larger part of the scroll-pinion, and the speed of movement at the end of the stroke is still further lessened by the crank as it comes to the dead-center and pause. These movements prevent the bundle being ejected from the machine by the suddenness of the motion, and the power is also equalized as the bundle increases in size. The spring-arm 40, at the end of the revolving shaft u, acts to hold the grain at the opposite side to the gatherer r, and this springarm is thrown back by revolving the shaft u after the bundle has been bound. The wheel u on 0 gives the revolving motion to this shaft by the portion 43 of said wheel u acting upon the pinion 44 of said shaft u; but at other times the spring-arm is held in position by the concave u that projects from 44, resting against the smooth are surface of u. This wheel u, pinion 44, and concave u are shown detached in Fig. 7. This spring-arm 40 yields to the bundle of grain as it is pressed against the same by the gatherer r, and the arms 81 of said gatherer 1' press the previously-bound bundle from the ledge 88 before the newly-formed bundle is pressed down upon such ledge by the yielding presser 69. The wire-carrier slide a is supported in a fixed slide upon an arm of the frame a, and reciprocated at the proper time so as to bring the wire down across the bundle after the gatherer reaches its extreme movement and pause, said gatherer being slotted for allowing the wire-carrier and wire to descend. The reciprocating movement of this wire-carrier is derived from the shaft '0', wheel 46, crank 47, and connectingrod 48. The wheel 46 is made with teeth sections and concaves to work with the wheel 8, and make the two necessary pauses in the movement, so as to hold the wire-carrier in an elevated position as the bundle is passed by the gatherer beneath it, and also to hold the wirecarrier down in its depressed position, with the wire around the bundle during the movement of the parts that twist the wire together. The wire is supplied from a spool, 47, and passes through the eye w, and below the fork 49, and down to a clamp, hereafter described, that is below the platform, aud that clamp holds the loose end of the wire; hence the grain is pushed by the gatherer up against this wire, and as the wire-carrier descends on the opposite side of the bundle it brings the wire entirely around the bundle. The wire is cut off and twisted and the loose end is held, as the wire-slide rises again, so that the wire extends from the eye to the holding-jaw, as before mentioned, ready for the next bundle.

I will, therefore, now describe the holding, cutting, and twisting devices. Beneath the platform q is the holding and cutting jaw w, shown detached in Figs. 6 and 8. This jaw is located between the fork 49 and eye 10 of the wire slide when in its depressed position, as indicated in Fig. 6,.so that the wire passes across through said jaw w, the portion 50 acting simply to hold the wire near the eye to, and the part 51 is a cutter to separate the loop of wire passing around the bundle.

The moving side of this jaw w is operated by a bent lever, 53, that is hinged upon that jaw, and has a pin acting in a slot in the stationary jaw. The shape of this slot is inclined and segmental, as seen in Fig. 8, so that when .the jaw is closed the pin can move more or less in the segmental portion without either loosening the wire or clamping it so hard as to either cut the wire or injure the machine.

This construction allows for wear or variation in the connections that operate the lever 53. These connections consist of the rod 54, lever 55, and cam 56.

The twisting device is a revolving head, rotated periodically by a gearing, 8 shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, and deriving its motion from the wheel s, the concave on the pinion 60 preventing the parts turning except when the teeth come into contact.

The revolving head 61 is a gear-wheel with a radial incision on one side reaching into the open pipe-shaped hub, so that the wire can pass into the center, and a swinging jaw, 62, upon this'head is employed to grasp and hold the wire at the center. This jaw 62 is operated by a clamp, 64, that is circular and mounted in a slide 65, and this is moved up and down by a lever, 66, and connection 80, to the cam 67 on 6 When this clamp 64 is drawn down the jaw 62 is free to open, and when it is pushed up the jaw 62 is closed and holds the wire during the twisting operation.

The bundle of grain as it is gathered between the gatherer 1', the spring-arm 40, and the binding-wire, is forced downward outside of the edge of the platform q, upon the ledge 88, by the yielding presser 69, (see Fig. 6,) that is mounted upon the wire-carryin g slide 0; hence these parts conspire to consolidate the grain, and the bundle and wire are brought into position for the twisting mechanism, and I remark that the twisting-jaw is timed to grasp the wire before the cutter 51 separates the same. The gatherer 9' has projecting arms 81, that act against the previously completely-bound bundle as the gatherer completes its movement, and carry said bundle off the ledge 88 and deliver the same upon the bundle-carrier a ,'so that theparts are in readiness for receiving the loose grain that has been brought up by the gatherer to be bound, as aforesaid. I remark that in the bottom of the slotted jaw 100, through which the wire passes, I introduce a grooved roller, 95, to prevent the wire being injured and lessen friction on the same as the wire is drawn tight and twisted. The jaw 100 is at the end of the platform q, and adjacent to the ledge 88, so that the wire passes into said jaw as the bundle is forced down upon the ledge 88. The bundle-carrier is supported by the arm and caster-wheel at After the desired accumulation of bundles upon the carrier the back end of the same is dropped and the mass of bundles delivered in a pile. This is accomplished by the carrier being hinged at the front end at b, and held by a latch, 86, controlled by the lever 87 near the driver. When the bundles have been delivered the carrier is thrown up and latched again by a spring, 108.

The rear section 99 of the platform q is hinged and forms an adjustable swing-apron, that can be swung up by the lever 94, and a connection, 91, to near the driver; the use of this being to prevent the grain slipping oil at the back when going up hill.

The wire-carrier being made of a thin plate of metal, a narrow slot only is required in the gatherer where it passes said carrier; hence the grain cannot get into this slot to obstruct the operation, and the complicated devices heretofore employed upon the gatherer to allow the wire-carrier to pass are dispensed with.

I claim as my invention 1. The counter-shaft d, in combination with the binding-gear and mechanism for actuating the cutter-bar and the rake, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The gearing, arranged with the motive pinion 8 on one side of the wheel e on shaft 0, and the bevel-wheel 11 of the shaft h of the raking mechanism on the other side of the wheel e, in combination with the disconnecting-clutch e upon the shaft 0 substantially as set forth.

3. The revolving rake-shaft 13, arms k, and sliding rake-head k, in combination with the rock-shaft 17, arms 16, and stationary cam 12, substantially as set forth.

4. The revolving rake and movable rakehead is, mounted in curved bearings, so as to keep the rake-head nearly vertical as it is moved across the platform f, substantially as specified.

5. The movable fence q, projected up through a slot in the platform, in combination with the raker and transverse bundling mechanism, substantially as set forth.

6. The rock-shaft 23, arms 22, and fence q, in combination with the shaft 0 of the bundling mechanism, snbstantially as specified.

7. The rack 38, operating upon a scrollpinion, in combination with the gatherer and intermediate gearing, so as to actuate said gatherer most rapidly at the commencement of its movement, substantially as set forth.

8. The intermittent gear 31 32 33 34, of varying size, combined with the rack 38, acting upon the pinion 39 and gatherer 1', substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. The adjustable swing-apron 99 and connection to the lever 91, near the driver, substantially as specified.

10. The yielding and revolving presser 40, in combination with the reciprocating gatherer 1', substantially as specified.

11. The yielding and reciprocating presser 69, combined with the reciprocating gatherer 7' and yielding revolving presser 40, substantially as set forth.

12. The holding and twisting mechanism, composed of the revolving wheel 61, holdingjaw 62, and revolving clamp 64, substantially as specified.

combined with the pushers 81 to deliver the bound bundle, substantially as set forth.

17. The bundle-carrier a, supported by the arm and caster-wheel a, and hinged at the front end, in combination with the latch 86, lever 87, and spring 108, as and for the purposes specified.

Signed by me this 27th day of November, A. D. 1871.

Witnesses: EDWIN CHAPMAN.

0111s. H. SMITH, GEO. T. PINCKNEY. 

